08/14/2026
He really did use his car for business. He still lost over $21,000 in write-offs.
Meet the cautionary tale of Parker v. Commissioner (a real Tax Court case).
The guy was a personal trainer. He drove a custom built 1969 Camaro to client appointments, to research, all over town. Real business use. Not made up.
So on his return, he wrote off his vehicle like a lot of business owners do. Around $32,000 in total car costs, claiming the car was about 80% business. That came out to roughly $25,870 in vehicle expenses, plus depreciation on top.
Then the IRS audited him.
And here's the part that should make you nervous.
They didn't say his car was personal. They didn't say he was lying. The problem was he couldn't PROVE it. No mileage log. No odometer records kept during the year. Nothing written down at the time showing which drives were business and which were just... driving.
So after the audit started, he tried to rebuild it. Calendars. Estimates. Google Maps. He even argued the car was actually 97% business.
The court didn't buy the reconstruction. You can't recreate a year of driving from memory and expect it to hold up.
So they slashed his vehicle write off from $25,870 down to $4,815. Over twenty one thousand dollars in deductions, gone. Not because the driving was fake. Because the records were missing.
Now be honest with yourself for a second.
If the IRS asked you tomorrow to prove your business miles, could you? Do you have a log with the date, the miles, where you went, and why? Or do you just have a percentage you feel good about?
That gap, between what's true and what you can prove, is exactly where solid business owners get burned. Not the cheaters. The ones who never wrote it down.
Your vehicle is one of the biggest write offs you have. But it only survives if you track it as you go. A number you estimate in April is not the same as a log you kept all year.
Save this post so you remember it before you file. 📌
And if you want someone to make sure your deductions can actually survive the IRS, follow to schedule a free consultation call with us. https://scheduler.zoom.us/investor-friendly-cpa/client-intake-investor-friendly-cpa-llc
